Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-10-14
pox, anu over that was piled at least six
feet Of earth.

II ! was buriedl Oh, there was still u
hope and ! smiled as l tried TO picture n
condition in which a living, breathing
reasoning creature ceases to hope l
thought of the doomed wretch ascending
the scaffcld, and hoping against hope for
the pardon that can never reach him.
thought Of the soldier sentenced 10 death
by a pitiless court martial, standing
against a white wall. his eyes bandaged.
his grave yawning at his feet, awaiting
and fearing the fatal word Of command,
yet hoping that the unforeseen was about
10 occur in his behalf thought Of the
castaway at sea. Clinging TO a wave beaten
spar: of the miner imprisoned in the
bowels uf the earth: Of the thirst mad
dened wandercr in the desert-all, all
hoping. No, there are 10 circumstances
So terrible. no situation SO hopeless, that
man may not endure. struggle and hope
And my hope WHAT WAS ii. That my
coffin had been placed in a receiving
vault! This hope filed my soul as the
dawnlight fills the shadowed aisles Of n
great cathedral, and l grew strong be
meath its yisifying Influence.
As regained my wandering faculties
something fell dripping on my face-some
thing warm and noisome and slippery
wet-somethiv that fell like the first
drops OF a sU'lmer rain upon my closed
eyelids. and frickled dowE the burrows of
my checks 10 my lips-scmethinS that
tasted salt
1t was Jlood. My hands and wrists
Were gashcd by the glass through which !
had thrust them. With that taste Of my
own blood my hope fied-fied affrighted,
and in its place stalked the grewsome
realization that was buried alivc-buried
deep-entomhed, lost, abandoned. Drip
I-drip-drip. abandoned by the whole
world-abandoned by those Iloved-aban
doned by my wife. Abandoned. Never
before had comprehended the utter lone
Illness which that word conveys. For
sakenl
Despair came to my relief nt last Ny
hands We're again clasped across my
breast, the thumb OF my left hand caress-
ing the button that had excited my curl
osity a few moments before. l lay motion
lcss-thinking. And what queer, absurd.
grotesque fancies thrilled through INV
inind-ghostly tatterdemalions Of thought
spectral offspring Of Terror and Woe
was Cratified that had discovered one
situation that WAS absolutely hopeless 1t
was as if l had made discovery OF great
import in the realms of philosophical
/ speculation. ! experienced hideous
complacency in contemplating my utterly
/ hopeless environment.
! But my compiacency was somewhat
dampened for n moment by thoughts of
my horrible loneliness. Why had my
wife allowed my body 10 be so quickly
disposed of How selfish Suppose the
physicians had pronounced me dead was
that a sufficient reason for putting me
away SO soon: Why did she not wait I'M
til her own reason was convinced Why
did she not watch for palpable and unmis-
taxable evidences Of decay, No, my wife
did not love me.
And l remembered the young man who
sought 10 rival me in her affections "a
handsome, dark haired, reserved young
man who had quietly accepted her answer
and for three years waited patiently for
this opportunity to renew his suit \
woman tires Of lover, and wife may
well tire Of q husband. My darling had
proved herself no exception. Not that
she would have abandoned me living
her wifely duty and her virtue would
have prevented that-but husband dead
is a duty done. and the grave swallows
every obligation. And when the brief
season OF hypocritical grief shall have
passed 10y, the dark haired, handsome
young man with the earnest, pleading
eyes, will once more take his place by her
side-his arm will encircle her yielding
waist. his lips will meet hers in the pas
sionate kiss Of n love that glows warm be-
meath the ashes Of mine.
Thus did jealousy feed like harpy
upon the tenderest emotions of my heart
What depth of despair had reached, to
lie there dying, bereft Of hope, and suf-
far - f,I,
yet find an abiding place in my horror
haunted soul for such a grizzly guest as
jealousy. Ny he'd ached, and my throat
was strained as dumb sorrow strains it,
gnashcd my teeth in impotent rage, and
my fingers clinched that cloth button-I
tore it from its fastening as would have
torn her heart ont at that moment, and l
held it tight clasped in my hand, half fear
ing that l would lose it, and wondering in
a vague sort Of way why l wished to
keep it.
Tears! oh, the solace Of those tears at
that moment of supreme agony. l wept |
like a woman, and was filled with pity |
of myself-such pity as the soul of man !
has never felt. But at the same time l |
reproached myself Why had not in
sisted upon an autopsy in the event of my |
death, Why had not persisted in my |
expressed desire that should be cremated, |
Death would probably have resulted in
either case, but certainly death in any |
shape was preferable TO this death. But, |
aside from all this, the delay and prepara.
ton for the dissecting room or the furnace
would have afforded some slight chance !
of ultimate escape. Had l not revived, rs
il was, would not have manifested some
sign of returning consciousness under the
other circumstances-even at the point OF
the surgeons knfe-even at the door Of |
the glowing furnace.
Thus do we cheat ourselves with hopes |
that never exist save as regrets. Sud |
denly my faLcies ran another way. |
saw masled grave robbers creeping at |
midnight through the cemetery in which
I was buried heard their hoarse whis- |
pers as they approached my grave, and l
waited almost jcyfully, to hear the sound |
ing iron as il penetrated the loose soil to |
search for my coffin. Oh, how my ears |
strained through that awful silence for |
the dull. nuffied blow that | had |
heard through the ear OF my wild i'm |
agination. l calculated that these pol |
luted saviors would sound my box three |
or perhaps even four times before they |
were satisfied as TO where they should |
begin their horrid work of resurrection.
Horrid work. No: a glorious deed, for
which should bless them through eter
nity-beyond the second weeping. when
my real corpse should repose, cold and
rotting within its narrow home. But God
forbid that should ever lie here again.
My body should be embalmed when real
death came TO claim me-no more agony
OF a living death.
Why don't they hurry Surely they
have had ample time to drive that rod
down through the grave. Have they be-
come alarmed at some unusual sound, and |
are they hiding behind some neighboring |
monument until the danger is passed.
Why do society and the law 80 relentlessly |
pursue these ardent devotees OF science
these brave scavenSers Of the battle field